<%doc>
Help for Host form
</%doc>

<%args>
$dowindow => 1
</%args>

<%init>
if ( $dowindow ){
    $m->clear_buffer;
}
</%init>

<html>
<head>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="<% $r->dir_config('NetdotPath') %>css/style.css" type="text/css">
</head>      
<body class="bodytag" >

<div class="container">
    <div class="containerhead">DNS/DHCP Host Help</div>
    <div class="containerbody">

    <p><br>
    <a name="Hostname"></a>
    <strong>What is a Host Name?</strong>

    <p>A host name is the unique name by which a network-attached device (which could consist of a computer, printer, file server, network storage device, fax machine, copier, etc.) is known on a network. The hostname is used to identify a particular host in various forms of electronic communication.

<p>If you are requesting an IP address, you must specify a host name for your machine. The name must be lowercase, with no spaces, special characters, or symbols. Dashes are acceptable but cannot be the first character. 


    <hr>
    <p><br>
    <a name="Ethernet"></a>

    <strong>What is an Ethernet address?</strong>

    <p>The Ethernet address of a network interface card is the unique 48-bit value that identifies the card to the rest of the network. Every network card has a unique ethernet address permanently burned into its memory. These are also sometimes referred to as "physical", "hardware" or "MAC" addresses.

    <p>
    <strong>Is the Ethernet address required in the host form?</strong>

     <p>Your Ethernet address is required if you want your machine to obtain its address and other settings via DHCP.  DHCP is recommended because other network parameters (DNS servers, default router, etc.) are assigned and updated automatically. However, if you decide to manually configure your IP address and network settings, then you do not necessarily need to enter an Ethernet address in the host form.

     <p>
     <strong>What does an Ethernet address look like?</strong>

     <p>An ethernet address is 48-bits long. Since 48-bit patterns are hard to read -- but hexadecimal digits are easy to read -- ethernet addresses are often written using hexadecimal digits. Each hexadecimal digit represents 4 of the 48-bits, so you end up with a 12-digit hex value such as the following:

     <p>00:E1:27:A5:82:F2

     <p>
     <strong>How can I find the Ethernet address on my network card?</strong>

     <p>There are many different card vendors, and many different operating systems, and each of them may provide their own individual way to get at the ethernet address. A list of the common methods for locating the ethernet address on various platforms is given below:

       <dl>

         <p>
         <dt>On a PC running Windows

         <dd>Go to: Start Menu -> Accessories -> Command Prompt.  At the black window prompt, type:
 
         <p>'ipconfig /all' <enter>

         <p>Look for the Ethernet adapter section (usually called "Local Area Connection" and locate the line that says "Physical Address".

         <p>
         <dt>On a Mac

         <dd>Go to System Preferences -> Network -> Select the "Built-In Ethernet" card on the left.  Click on the "Advanced" button.  Select the "Ethernet" section.

         <p>
         <dt>On any machine

         <dd>You can look at the card itself (assuming it is not built into the machine). If you can see the card and it has a 12-digit hex value on it, then that value is most likely the ethernet address. If you cannot see the card, various pieces of system specific software can be used to locate the ethernet address.

       </dl>

    <hr>
    <p><br>
    <a name="DUID"></a>

    <strong>What is a DUID?</strong>

    <p>The DHCP Unique Identifier (DUID) is used by a client host to request an IPv6 address from a DHCPv6 server. The server compares the DUID with its database and delivers configuration data (address, lease times, DNS servers, etc.) to the client. In DHCPv4, the unique identifier used was the Ethernet (MAC) address of a network interface. The DUID is different in that it is generated by the operating system and is not supposed to change even when interface cards change.
    
     <p>
     <strong>What does a DUID look like?</strong>

     <p>A DUID is represented as a sequence of hexadecimal digits, possibly grouped in pairs and separated by colons or dashes, for example: 

     <p>"00:01:00:01:0D:EF:64:ED:00:11:85:5D:4E:68".

     <p>
     <strong>How can I find the DUID on my system?</strong>

     <p>A list of the common methods for locating the DUID on various platforms is given below:

       <dl>
         <p>
         <dt>On a PC running Windows (Vista and newer) 

         <dd>Go to: Start Menu -> Accessories -> Command Prompt.  At the black window prompt, type:
 
         <p>'ipconfig /all' <enter>

         <p>Look for the line that says something like "DHCPv6 Client DUID".

       </dl>

    <hr>
    <p><br>
    <a name="Cnames"></a>
    <strong>What is an alias or CNAME record?</strong>

    <p>A CNAME record or Canonical Name record is a type of resource record in the Domain Name System (DNS) that specifies that the domain name is an alias of another, canonical domain name. This helps when running multiple services (like an FTP and a webserver; each running on different ports) from a single IP address. Each service can then have its own entry in DNS (like ftp.example.com. and www.example.com.). Network administrators also use CNAMEs when running multiple HTTP servers on the same port, with different names, on the same physical host.

    <p>When adding a new host in Netdot, you can specify multiple cnames by separating them with commas.

    <p><br>
    <a name="Expiration"></a>
    <strong>What does the Expiration Date do?</strong>

    <p>The expiration date of a DNS record is an optional attribute that allows the user to instruct netdot to automatically remove that record at the desired date. This is useful when registering a hostname temporarily (i.e. for testing purposes) without the need to go back into netdot to remove the record.  If left blank, the expiration will not take effect.  However, stale records could be removed by the netdot administrators if the IP addresses have not been seen on the network for a period of time.

    <p><br>
    <a name="CPU"></a>
    <strong>What is a CPU?</strong>
    
    <p>CPU stands for 'Central Processing Unit'.  Examples of CPU values are: Intel, AMD, Motorola, PowerPC, etc.

    <p><br>
    <a name="OS"></a>
    <strong>What does OS mean?</strong>
    
    <p>OS stands for 'Operating System'.  Examples of Operating Systems are: Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Linux, etc.


    </div> <!-- close containerbody -->
</div> <!-- close container -->
 
</body>
</html>


